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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Wapato, Washington » Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #261889

Title: Trapping hop looper moths, Hypena humuli Harris (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), in hop yards in Washington State with acetic acid and 3-methyl-1-butanol

Author
item Landolt, Peter
item Guedot, Christelle
item HANSEN, JAMES - Retired ARS Employee
item WRIGHT, LAWRENCE - Retired Non ARS Employee
item JAMES, DAVID - Washington State University

Submitted to: International Journal of Pest Management
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/7/2011
Publication Date: 10/1/2011
Citation: Landolt, P.J., Guedot, C.N., Hansen, J., Wright, L., James, D.G. 2011. Trapping hop looper moths, Hypena humuli Harris (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), in hop yards in Washington State with acetic acid and 3-methyl-1-butanol. International Journal of Pest Management. Vol 57(3):183-188.

Interpretive Summary: Cutworms, armyworms, and loopers are caterpillars that damage numerous crops when they feed on foliage, fruits, stems, and roots. Methods and technologies are needed both to monitor these insects, and also to manage their populations. Researchers at the USDA, ARS Yakima Agricultural Research Laboratory, Wapato, WA are developing monitoring methods and attract-and-kill approaches for these pest moths. Feeding attractants identified for cutworm pests of potato are also attractive to several other crop pests. In collaboration with scientists at Washington State University, a feeding attractant based on the odor chemistry of fermented molasses baits was tested against the hop looper. The chemical combination of acetic acid and 3-methyl-1-butanol was attractive to both male and female hop looper moths and was used in traps as a lure. Use of the traps in commercial hop yards through the year demonstrated the utility of the lure to determine when the moths fly, when they are most abundant, and when females are able to lay eggs on the crop. This new information provides the first chemical lure for this pest, and information on its biology that will be useful for developing integrated pest management.

Technical Abstract: Hop looper moths, Hypena humuli Harris, in commercial hop yards (Humulus lupulus L.) were captured in traps baited with a combination of acetic acid plus 3-methyl-1-butanol (AAMB). The two chemicals were synergistic in attracting hop looper moths; in a comparison of the lure chemicals, most moths were trapped with AAMB as the lure, whiile very few moths were captured in traps baited with acetic acid alone or 3-methyl-1-butanol alone. Female and male hop looper moths were trapped with AAMB, with an overal sex ratio through the year of 44% female to 56% male. Moths were trapped in all months of the growing season, from April into October. From April through September, most females captured in traps were mated, whereas inOctober most females trapped were unmated. Most mated females trapped possessed one spermatophore, indicating a single mating. Numbers of moths trapped were small from April through June, and increased greatly in July, and at one site again in late August. AAMB-baited traps may be a useful tool to monitor hop looper moths in commercial hop yards, to determine their presence, and potentially to assess the risk of damaging infestations.